Designs have been proposed for containers, especially containers for liquid, wherein a closure is provided with a spout for discharging the container contents and wherein the closure is also provided with an attached cover or plug for sealingly occluding the dispensing spout. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,419,198 and 3,059,816.
In order to accommodate the pouring of liquid materials from the spout of such closures, it has been proposed to include a vent in the closure for admitting air to the interior of the container as the liquid is being poured out through the dispensing spout. The U.S. Pat. No. 3,059,816 discloses designs for such a closure which includes an attached cap that, when positioned in engaging relationship upon the closure, fully occludes both the dispensing spout and the vent. Removal of the cap necessarily results in the opening of both the dispensing spout and the vent.
Although prior art designs for closures such as those discussed above may function well for the purposes for which they were designed, it has occurred to the inventor of the present invention that additional operational features would be desirable in many applications. Specifically, it may be advantageous in some applications to have the capability for dispensing the liquid contents from a container in either a steady pouring stream or in discrete drops so as to provide a sprinkling effect.
For example, with some types of liquid comestibles, such as soy sauce, it may be desired to provide for drop-by-drop dispensing onto food on a diner's plate. On the other hand, during the preparation of food in a kitchen, it may be desired to dispense larger quantities of the liquid in a steady, pouring stream. It would be beneficial if the same container could be used with an appropriate closure to alternatively dispense the liquid in a steady stream and drop-by-drop.
Further, with such an improved closure having the above-described alternate dispensing mode capability, it would be desirable to provide an integral, attached cover for sealing the container and for cooperating with the container to select the desired dispensing mode. This integral design would eliminate loose parts which might otherwise become separated from the closure and might perhaps become lost.
Additionally, it would be beneficial if such an improved closure could be provided with means for self-maintaining the closure in an appropriate operative orientation for dispensing the contents in the selected dispensing mode for as long as desired by the user.
Finally, such an improved closure should advantageously have a configuration that is relatively easy to manufacture from a variety of materials, and especially from conventional thermoplastic materials which are typically employed in containers for various liquids, particularly comestible liquids.